Anne Barounos: Let’s give Americans what they want

With all due respect to recent letters to the editor about the November 2016 election results and what the majority of American voters wanted/expected from that election, many voters voted for their Republican candidate because they anticipated he would keep his promises. They especially believed his promises regarding health care.

He said the following during his campaign:

“Insurance for everybody;”

“No cuts to Medicaid;”

“No one will lose coverage;”

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“Nobody will be worse off financially;”

“Get rid of artificial lines” (e.g., he promised folks would be able to purchase insurance across state lines); and

“Everybody’s going to be taken care of.”

(Quotes are taken from POLITICO fact check.)

None of these promises are in the current American Health Care Act that is supported by the current president. A recent survey from the Economist/YouGov found that a majority of Americans support "expanding Medicare to provide health insurance to every American."

Similarly, a poll from Morning Consult/Politico showed that a plurality of voters support "a single-payer health care system, where all Americans would get their health insurance from one government plan."

In both the recent YouGov and Morning Consult polls, the age group most opposed to single payer was the only one that basically already has it: those 65 and up. In other words, single payer for me but not for you.

That's not because older Americans hate their experience with Medicare and wouldn't wish something similar upon their worst enemy. To the contrary, those on Medicare are more satisfied with how the health-care system works for them than people on private insurance are, according to Gallup survey data.

Let's keep the pressure on Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services to give Americans what they were promised and what they want.